Post-clearance not manufactured in India certificate accepted for customs exemption where substantive notification conditions were satisfied.

Exemption under Notification No. 70-Cus. was held admissible where the importer had applied for the prescribed not manufactured in India certificate before import, and the certificate was issued after clearance. The Tribunal treated the later issuance as sufficient because the goods were otherwise covered by the notification and the conditions were substantively met. A purely technical objection based on the timing of the certificate was not accepted, and the exemption benefit was allowed in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether exemption under Notification No. 70-Cus. dated 26-3-1981 was admissible where the prescribed not manufactured in India certificate was issued after import clearance and the application for the certificate had been made before import.

Analysis: The Tribunal applied the earlier view that refund or exemption under the notification could not be denied on a purely technical ground when the importer had otherwise satisfied the conditions of the notification. Since the goods were covered by the exemption and the certificate was ultimately issued, the later issuance of the NMI certificate was treated as sufficient for availing the notification benefit.

Conclusion: The exemption was admissible and the post-clearance NMI certificate was valid for claiming benefit under the notification, in favour of the assessee.

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